Eluding Facades

Chapter 7

Things weren't going Gail's way that day.

She always hated it when things don't go according to what she wanted or planned. First, she had woken up overly earlier than her alarm clock because she had gotten suspicious over the amount of time she had been sleeping. She loved her sleep as much as the next guy and the thought the she could've gotten more of it if she hadn't just given in to her sinking wariness then maybe she could've had an adequate amount of sleep after the Nutella she had consumed the other night made it difficult for her to immediately submit to slumber. After lying on her bed with her eyes wide open for a stretch of time, she ended up resorting to doing sit ups in an attempt to tire herself out. Apparently, boredom can sometimes coerce people into exercise at ungodly hours. After that she remembered collapsing into bed and being consumed by sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Second- after a shower that didn't at the slightest serve to soothe her nerves, while racking her closet she was dismayed to discover that her favorite pastel button down top was sitting at the bottom of her hamper, waiting to be washed. She had to go for her white ruffled short sleeved blouse that just wasn't fitting her mood that day. Then when she made her way to the kitchen downstairs and set about to making a much needed coffee the machine had emitted garbled rattling sounds when it should be spewing out her liquefied salvation after she had deposited the coffee beans and started it.

"The coffee maker's broken," She heard someone say from behind her and didn't need to turn to figure out that it was Trent. But she did anyway, for the sake of an amicable conduct on her part.

"It was fine yesterday," She responded.

"I surmise it was Saphron's doing," He supplied." She exploits the coffee maker more than anyone in this house."

"The term is 'use', Ahyres," Saphron suddenly chimed in, striding into the kitchen and seating herself on her usual chair by the kitchen island.

Trent casually shrugged and smiled at Gail. He proceeded to rummage through the kitchen cabinet above the sink and procured a few packets of Folgers instant coffee.

"Black or French Vanilla?" He asked.

Black coffee didn't appeal much to her that morning. She usually took her coffee black on days when she's overly hassled but at that moment instant and black coffee didn't quite go together for her.

"French Vanilla," She replied.

"Here you go."

"Thanks," She shot him a smile.

It was things like this that added to the brunet's allure, no matter how small the gesture may seem for others. She found that even the little things worth being appreciative of and so much more. On some days, when she feels like all she wanted to do was crawl back to her bed and go back to sleep something might've shown on her face because Trent would slid a cup of coffee over to her, without her even asking for it. He had also remembered her allergy towards soya and was kind enough to inform Olivia of it when she had mentioned that she was contemplating over soya bean curry or ground beef stew for dinner. She also hadn't forgotten the time during their morning walk and Trent had showed her around town, he made sure to make her walk on his left side, putting himself between her and the road.

"Are you going to be fine with instant coffee until we get the coffee maker fixed?" Trent inquired.

She nodded," I'll make do."

It wasn't that she hated instant coffee mix, it was just that it left a tangy aftertaste on her tongue that she could still perceive slightly even when she had brushed her teeth. After pouring the contents of the packet into her mug and tipping enough hot water, she added more milk than usual with the intent of alleviating the incoming aftertaste- even if it was already French vanilla, she thought.